The Darkness Within
by Gryfyne
Summary: Set after KH2: Org. VIII has been destroyed and the worlds are peaceful once again...or are they? A new threat has risen and an unlikely hero..um..group must save the worlds. [DISCONTINUED]
1. Children at Play

For full story background information and character information, please visit my profile.

~~~TDW~~~

"Ferb, I know what we're going to do today."

Loxen smiled as she watched the two boys begin their day. It had been so long that she had felt this happy. In all actuallity, the two only gave her the memory of happiness. She could never actually _feel_ anymore. She was a Nobody, a being devoid of a heart or feelings for that matter.

She had been watching the boys for around a week now since their world had been discovered. Not for fear that Heartless might try to take them, their hearts were too pure and devoid of any Darkness. No, she just liked to watch their wacky inventions.

"Hey, where's Perry?"

Loxen adjusted herself in her perch and switched her attention to the boys' pet, a seemingly ordinary platypus. Until he stood up and put a brown fedora on his head. Looking left and right, the platypus opened one of his many entrances to his lair. Loxen silently laughed as the platypus probably thought another sneaky slip-away went unnoticed. Loxen had been watching that one as well, along with his goofy rival, Dr. Doofenshmirtz. That one gave the Nobody pause. She could feel Darkness in that one's heart, not too much, but enough to call Heartless to his position if they began to swarm.

"Hey, you! In the tree. What are you doing?"

Loxen jumped in her skin and, when she steadied herself, looked down. A teenage girl with bright orange hair stared up at her, hands on her hips. Loxen felt secure that the girl didn't know who the Nobody was and that her cover wasn't truly blown. She weighed her choices carefully, shrugged, checked if her hood was on securely, and jumped down out of the tree.

This one she could remember. One of the boys' older sister. The crazy one that Loxen knew wasn't actually all that crazy. The girl just had a bad sense of karma. The Nobody smirked. Now that reminded her of someone.

"Hello! I asked you a question."

Okay, now the girl was getting annoying. Loxen contemplated summoning her weapon but dismissed the idea. The red-head wasn't a threat, or a Heartless for that matter. So, she just turned away and walked off. She could hear the girl huff and walk back to her house, and her cell phone.

Loxen looked back over shoulder to get one last look at the boys. Their innocent hearts. So pure and so strong. They would make excellent Nobodies. The Calculating Mariner shook her head, dispelling that thought. They were too pure for that. And she didn't know what she would do if she was unable to come visit them. Them and their emotions.

Loxen sighed, knowing full well that she was going to be needed back at the castle. There always seemed to be a ton of work to do. No matter how many members they had now, it always seemed that they were undermaned. She turned and lifted her hand. A doorway made of Darkness burst into existance and Loxen walked through it.

~~~TDW~~~

Okay, disclaimer time: Phineas and Ferb, along with any other elements from the show (c) Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh

Kingdom Hearts, along with any other elements from the game series (Except Loxen-she belongs to me)(c) Square Enix


	2. Sisters

The Dark Corridor opened up in the castle Common Room. Loxen peeked out of the opening to look around the room. Satisfied that there was nothing outside of the swirling Darkness, the Nobody stepped out of the Dark Corridor. The Room was deserted and she let out a sigh of relief as she walked to her favorite spot in the Common Room, a ring of chairs by the giant window that overlooked the city below.

Loxen allowed herself to smile, safe in the thought that _she_ was off on a mission.

*Blunk..tudunk..unk...k...k...*

Loxen stopped and frowned, whirling around to find the culprit for the noise. A small vase was still spinning where it had fallen from its perch on a table on the otherside of the room. The Nobody stood still, poised in case something might spring out at her, but after a time of nothing happening, Loxen shrugged and resumed to her chair.

"Hwahahahaha!" *Thump*

"Leyixa!" Loxen yelled as she tried to distangle herself from the grip of the Fire Nobody. Leyixa just laughed in response and wrapped her arms tighter around her sister.

"Did cha' miss meh?" Leyixa asked as Loxen tried to squirm her way out of the younger Nobody's grip.

"If I say yes, will you let me go?" Loxen asked with a sigh, starting to resign herself to her fate when another familier face came into view.

"Axandam! Could you help me out a little?" Loxen gestured with her free hand at her sister.

The Time Nobody raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms, "Okay Leyixa, I think your sister gets the point. Now, let go before you squeeze her to death."

Leyixa relented, but not before giving Loxen a good squeeze. Axandam smiled and extended a hand. Loxen gratefully accepted the help, Axandam helping pull her up off of the floor.

"She has been waiting to do that for weeks," Axandam laughed as she pulled her friend into a hug.

"I'm back for less than five minutes and everyone has to hug me!" Loxen seethed after Axandam let her go, "I'm not allowed even a second of alone time?"

"Now I'm hurt. I thought you might have missed me," a distinctly male voice said, the tone portraying some semblance of being hurt.

Loxen whirled around with a shriek of pure joy, if she could feel such emotion, and hurtled herself at the one person she knew she actually had missed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head against his shoulder as he wrapped his own arms around her. After what felt like only a few seconds, Loxen looked up at his face. Jaxsem. The Nobody of Earth. And her boyfriend.

"You don't know how much I missed you," Loxen replied, reaching, and failing, up to tousle his dark blue hair.

"How sweet. Probably too sweet, 'cause I'm about to gag back here," another male voice pipped up, only grumpy this time.

Loxen let her arms drop and turned around, yet again, to glare darkly at the other male.

"So that's how it is. Not even going to say hi?" Vexteret, the Lightning Nobody, grumbled, his arms crossed across his chest, "You're gone for...how long was it again? Oh yeah, three weeks. Three weeks with only those three. After you left, I was the only one left who knew how to cook!"

Loxen would have exploded right then and there if Axandam hadn't put her hand on the Water Nobody's shoulder. Axandam shook her head. Loxen just tore away and stormed off to her room.

~~~TDW~~~

Kingdom Hearts, along with any other elements from the game series (Except Loxen, Leyixa, Vexteret, Jaxsem, and Axandam-they belong to me) (c) Square Enix


	3. Some Heartless Plotting

Three shadowey figures sat around a long dark table, the heart-like shape of which was all to familier to those who fought the creatures who wore that same emblem, on chairs made of bone. Green flamed torches twitched and danced in their hand-shaped brackets, causing shadows to dance and flicker against the walls.

One figure stood up from his chair of bone and began pacing the spacious room, his claws clicking on the stone floor with each step. His brothers watched him anxiously, their yellow eyes following his movements.

He was the oldest of his Awakened brothers and also the tallest, standing to around nine feet on two legs. He had the body shape of a Neoshadow, but that was where the resembelance ended. His coloring was all reds, oranges, and blacks with the Heartless symbol broadcasted proudly on his narrow chest. He would carry two blades, thin and narrow looking, but still deadly sharp, that were now seathed in carriers on either side of his chair. This older Heartless called himself Shadowflare, for his shadowey past and mastery of fire magicks.

Shadowflare turned his yellow eyes to his brothers, first to the one seated to the right of his chair, and then to the one seated to the left. He then turned his gaze back to the Heartless on the right.

"How are the Soldiers faring in their training, Knightstrike?" He asked the bulky Heartless.

Knightstrike shrugged his massive, armor-plated shoulders, "The Soldiers are coming along just fine. It's those blasted Guard Armors and Reverse Armors that are the problems," He leaned forward in his bone chair, "They keep getting into fights with each other, provoking the other party into a fight. I've had my hands full this past week."

Knightstrike was the 'middle child' if you will, younger than Shadowflare but older than Windstorm. Standing only around seven feet, he was the shortest of his brothers, but he made up for his height with his strength. His entire body was covered in giant plates of blue and gold armor. The Heartless symbol shone proudly on the center of his breastplate and was the design for the eye slits on Knightstrike's helm. Knightstrike himself was only a shadowey mass of black with glowing yellow eyes. His pride and joy was a massive battle-ax, which was lying across his lap.

Windstorm was the complete opposite of his middle brother. Around eight feet tall with a very slender build, he was the only one of his brothers that could fly. He was also the only one that looked less human. His body was a brilliant purple that faded to gray nearing his hands and feet. Black bands encirculed his wrists up to his elbows and his feet, from the arch in his foot to his ankle. His wings start at his shoulders and rejoin at the small of his back, then split off and the webbing of the second pair joins at his thighs. The webbing is dark purple that fades to light purple while the tops of the wings are dark gray fading to light gray. He was currently cradling a longspear, looking over the weapon with his yellow eyes.

Shadowflare turned to his younger brother, "And your Air Soldiers training?"

Windstorm looked up, "Just fine. They have mastered many flight manuevers and techniques. They have been able to fly in a group without injuring themselves for the last couple of days."

Shadowflare nodded, pleased that the training was going well. A Neoshadow poked its head into the room and announced it had a message. Shadowflare gave the Neoshadow permission to enter and the Pureblood slid through the room towards its commander, not daring to look at the other two in the room. The Neoshadow looked up at its commander, who promptly absorbed it. A smile slid onto the Heartless' face.

"Brothers, we have a new world to conquer."

~~~TDW~~~

Disclaimer:

Kingdom Hearts, along with any other elements from the game series (Except Shadowflare, Knightstrike, and Windstorm-they belong to me) (c) Square Enix


	4. Friends

Her room was the standard light gray color. One window allowed Loxen a view of the landscape below. A lone fish tank glowed forlornly in a corner, the fish, surprising actually, swam merrily, if a fish could look merry, in their glass prison.

Loxen lounged on her bed, which was set up next to the window, just shy of touching the glass by a small nightstand, watching the fish. The fish themselves were a pretty rare breed, being Nobody fish. She sat with her back resting on the headboard, her cushioned by her sea-green pillow, with her journal resting on her drawn-up knees.

She was currently scribbling in her journal when a knock sounded at her door. Loxen sighed and stowed her journal in a drawer in the nightstand.

"Come on in," Loxen shifted on the bed so that her legs now draped off the edge of the bed.

Axandam poked her head around the door before entering the room. The Time Nobody sat down next to Loxen and they both sat in silence.

"So...did you have a nice vacation?" Axandam asked, trying to break the silence.

Loxen couldn't help herself, she started laughing. Axandam looked at her friend with a concerned air until Loxen snorted and Axandam's calm demeaner was broken. She began to laugh as well. So instead of the silence that had permeated the room, now sounds of uncontrolled laughter rang. The two Nobodies were soon gasping for air as stitches grew in their sides. They would start to control their giggles up until the point were one of them, namely Loxen, would snort and the laughing would start back up again.

A few more minutes passed before the two could get themselves under control.

"I haven't laughed like that in weeks," the Time Nobody admitted, clutching at her sides, "What started you off?"

Loxen wipped the tears from her eyes, "I was remembering the first day we arrived at this castle. It was so dusty that everyone began to sneeze. Vexteret had it the worst, though, and wehn he sneezed, he sneezed so hard that he accidently electricuted everyone. It hurt but we still laughed so hard."

Axandam started to reply as the room was bathed in a red light. The two Nobodies exchanged worried looks and were instantly on their feet. Loxen raised a hand and a Dark Corridor burst into existence. They emerged into another room, this one filled with computers. A Noboby sat at the largest section of computers, his fingers traveling across the keyboard faster than Loxen's eyes could follow.

"Heartless have been sighted. A unusually large group of them, might I add," he turned his chair around and gave Loxen a long look. Suddenly, he leapt out of his seat and wrapped his long arms around her, "You never came down here to say goodbye, when you left. Or hello, when you came back," he scolded.

"Sorry about that, Noraax. But let us talk about this later. Where are the Heartless attacking?"

Noraax, the Nobody of Metal, sat back in his chair and resumed typing. Quickly, he brought the world up and Loxen gave a gasp. Whirling around, her cloak billowing behind her, she opened another Dark Corrider and ran into it.

"Nononononononono..."

On the screen, spinning serenly in space, was the world Loxen had spent the past several weeks.

~~~TDW~~~

Disclaimer:

Kingdom Hearts, along with any other elements from the game series (except Noraax, Vexteret, Axandam, and Loxen) (c) Square Enix


	5. A Promise

Once her foot exited the Dark Corridor, Loxen was surrounded by Heartless. Many of the loathsome creatures she recognized, Shadows and Soldiers, while others she couldn't name, but that didn't matter to her anymore. All she wanted to do was destroy the abominations and be done with it.

Stretching her hand out in front of her, Loxen summoned her weapon. Water condensed in her hand, swirling around to form her weapon of choice, a five-foot long trident. The Nobody twirled the weapon and brought it to a stop in her right hand, the shaft resting against her upper arm.

"Bring it on," she growled as the swarm rushed towards her. She roared a challenge and charged forward to meet them, the trident trailing off to the side. Stopping before the horde, Loxen swung her weapon in an arc, catching the leading four Shadows square in the middle. The Shadows dissintigrated, pink hearts twirling heavenward.

Loxen gasped as pain flared on her shoulder. Spinning on her toes, she stabbed her trident into the Soldier and caught a few more Shadows in the backswing. Loxen attempted to raise her left arm, but the pain from the Soldier's attack made the muscles spasm uncontrollably. Gritting her teeth in frustration at the inconvienince, she dropped her trident and thrust her right hand forward, sending out a torrent of water. The wave swept the most of the Heartless back, while the others disintegrated.

Looking at the deep gouges in her shoulder, Loxen gathered the energy required for a Cure spell. She watched in satisfaction as the flesh in her shoulder knitted back together, but all too slow. A clicking noise behind her alarted Loxen to a new danger. A group of the new Heartless had somehow managed to get behind her. Their bodies were teardrop shaped, about the same size as a Shadow, with what looked like wings, although they did not fly. Their feet were small and they way they moved was intruiging. They waddled, bodies swaying left and right, their feet never going further than a few centimeters up. The Heartless crest was centered right on the foreheads, their bright yellow eyes set on either side.

As they slowly moved forward, Loxen noticed that, what she thought were wings, were actually a rotating gear, like one would use in a wind-up toy. Their slow speed alarmed Loxen, and she willed her weapon back to her hand. Channeling some of her magic through the trident, she sent a wave towards the Heartless. As the wave passed, half of the Heartless were still making their slow progress forward, much to Loxen's disappointment. But her disappointment soon turned to happiness as the Heartless exploded. A figure appeared behind where the Heartless used to be and made its way to Loxen.

"I didn't think anyone would follow me. Guess you proved me wrong," Loxen said as she accepted the hand up.

Axandam gave her friend a long look, her arms folded across her chest, "You have been my best friend for two lifetimes. Do you really think I would allow you to get yourself killed?"

Loxen shook her head, a smile dancing on her lips, "Nah. I just didn't think-"

"There ya' go. You didn't _think_! Really, Loxen? What did you find here that warrants you to almost kill yourself?"

The Water Nobody hung her head, ashamed that she had been so careless. She looked up and noticed the Heartless regrouping. She placed a hand on Axandam's shoulder, "This isn't the place for it. We have some Heartless to destroy. After, I will show you."

"Promise?" Axandam pleaded, "Don't leave me out of something important."

"I won't," Loxen promised before turning her attention to the Heartless before her. It's going to be a long day, the Nobody inwardly groaned.

~~~TDW~~~

Disclaimer:

Kingdom Hearts, along with any other elements from the game series (except Axandam, and Loxen) (c) Square Enix


End file.
